Selling a dead or junk car in Concord

What we could not find for Concord

The sources for this page didn't include an abatement ordinance from Concord itself, so the junk-car rules here are state law. That power sits with local government. Vehicle Code 22660 lets a city pass an ordinance calling abandoned, wrecked, dismantled or inoperative cars public nuisances, removing them from public or private land, and charging for it. Concord may have its own version, with its own notice periods. Ask the city before you count on any deadline here.

State rules that apply on any Concord street

• 72 hours. Under Vehicle Code 22651, a Concord car left on a street for that long against a local rule can be towed.
• Missing parts. A car at the curb with no engine or transmission, or without wheels, tires, doors or a windshield, can go right away under 22669.
• Abandoning it costs more. In Concord, Section 22523 makes dumping a car illegal on public land. Private land is covered too, unless its owner agreed. In Concord, a caught owner pays no less than $100 and must prove the removal was paid for.

Once a tow yard has the car

A Concord storage or tow company holds a possessory lien on the car through Civil Code 3068.1. A Concord yard gets 15 days to start the lien sale on a car it puts at $4,000 or less. First, the Concord yard sends out a "Notice of Pending Lien Sale" by mail. In Concord the sale follows 31 to 41 days after that. If a Concord owner wants a judge to rule, the Declaration of Opposition must go back within 10 days.

Leave an abandoned car unclaimed at the yard and the last registered owner is cited and billed for whatever the sale does not cover, unless that owner had filed a report of sale. More on this in towed or impounded.

Title, back fees and plates

Parking it unregistered in a Concord driveway doesn't stop the fees and penalties for those years. Only a Planned Non-Operation (REG 102) filing does. Contra Costa County has no title desk; the state DMV does that work at field offices or by post. In Concord, you sign and any lienholder signs too. The DMV's seller steps call for no notary.

Send the DMV your REG 138 within 5 days. After the DMV records a Concord sale, the buyer owns any tickets or lawsuits from later dates. Regular plates normally stay mounted. A scrap-bound car is spared the Smog Check.

Getting an offer

Dial (877) 421-6008 or send the form. Selling a Concord car? Start on the form. Our truck picks up from a driveway, an assigned parking space or a shop near Todos Santos Plaza. Nearby pages cover Pleasant Hill, Walnut Creek and Pittsburg. The California page and selling a junk car cover the rest.